Tag: Interview

As I mentioned when I did my cover reveal, I’m publishing Reunion of the Heart on Friday (15th August)!!!

In support of its release, I’ve got various ideas up my sleeve. I’m not doing a blog tour this time as I think I mentioned, BUT I would be interested in doing an interview or a blog post on a few different blogs. Not too many – it’s not a blog tour!!

But if any of you would be interested in hosting me/interviewing me on your blog, let me know. I really don’t mind if it’s after this Friday (I know I’ve left it a little late lol), just drop me a line if this sounds appealing to you.

My email address is: elaine (dot) jeremiah (at) gmail (dot) com

Oh and I should add for any of you who don’t know Reunion of the Heart is a contemporary romance.

Thanks! 🙂

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Hi one and all. I hope you’ve had a good week. I have, enjoying the long May Day weekend here in the sunny UK. Seriously, the weather was pretty good for once!! (It nearly always decides to rain in this country every time we have a national holiday!)

Anyway, on with my WIPpet for this week. Well I guess the title of this blog post is a giveaway – I’m treating you to another interview with a different character from my WIP Reunion of the Heart.

This time I’m interviewing Lizzie. She is the close friend of Rachel who I interviewed here last week. When Lizzie, Rachel, my MC Anna and her best friend Melissa were at secondary school, they fell out over a boy. Rachel sided with Lizzie insisted on going out with Matt who’d made Anna’s life a misery. Anna and Melissa stuck together and so the friendship group was broken. I won’t say any more as I don’t want to give away too much of the plot.

I should say this interview is quite long, so thank you in advance for taking the time to read it. One more comment: it doesn’t relate to today’s date (shock horror!). I’m sure K. L. Schwengel (she of the flying monkeys) is going to shoot me now! 😉 But before she does, here’s my WIPpet:

Me: Hi Lizzie, thanks for agreeing to meet me at such short notice.

Lizzie: Well it was a bit of a pain for me to get here in the rush hour, you could have picked a better time. But I’m here now. So what do you want to ask me?

Me: I wanted to get to know you a bit more and to talk to you about your relationship with my main character Anna. How long have you known her?

L: Since secondary school. We were in the same PE group in the first year. (laughs) Anna always hated PE. She wasn’t bad at running, but didn’t like it because she felt everything wobbled when she ran, you know her boobs and so on. She had really bad self-esteem; she was a little bit podgy when we were at school but still gorgeous, you know? Though she could never see it.

Me: Anna told me that you fell out with her over a boy. Matt, wasn’t it?

L: (face reddens) Is she still going on about that? (angry) Because that was such a long time ago. I thought we’d made up on that score. (folds arms and glares)

Me: No, no, Anna’s fine with that now. She’s forgiven you. But as she’s the main character in my book, I just wanted to make sure that I’ve portrayed her in the right way. And you too; I’d hate to get my facts wrong. (I fan my hot face with café menu)

L: (leans back in chair and sighs) Well if we really have to talk about it… Yes, we fell out over Matt. You know, of course, that he and Will made Anna’s life hell when we were at school. And I’ll always regret that I chose him over Anna. All those years of friendship wasted for some stupid bloke. He is as thick as two short planks. But when we were all at school, he was cute and fun. All the girls wanted to be with him. They were so jealous when he chose me. (pauses) It was a stupid mistake on my part. By the time I realised that Matt and I were going nowhere, it was too late. We’d just left school. Anna and I had burned our bridges and there was no going back. Till the reunion.

Me: Yes, tell me about that.

L: When I got the invite, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make up with Anna. But in all honesty, I thought it unlikely that she’d go. I mean, why would she want to revisit her past, to go back to a place where she’d been so unhappy? Of course, I had no way of knowing if she’d be there until the evening itself. Rachel was with me. I suppose she talked to you about all this?

Me: We focused mainly on your schooldays and the falling out.

L: (nods) Right. Well when Anna did turn up to the reunion, I knew that this was my chance to make up with her. Most likely I’d never have another opportunity. Rachel was keen to speak to Anna too. (pause) She never forgave herself – or me – for what happened. I think she must have told you that she sided with me when we were at school?

Me: She did mention it, yes.

L: At the time I appreciated Rachel sticking by me. We’d been friends pretty much all our lives, so I was glad not to lose her friendship. (sighs) I told myself that Anna and Melissa were overreacting to me dating Matt. But deep down, I think I always knew that by choosing my casual relationship with Matt over my friendship with Anna, I was making a big mistake.

Me: Why did it take so long for you and Anna to make up? Couldn’t you have contacted her before?

L: (irritated) What is this, the Spanish Inquisition? (has a long sip of coffee) OK, if you really need to know, I wasn’t sure where she was living for one thing. I had no idea she was still in Warston. But also I didn’t know how she’d react if I tried to track her down and contact her. Then there’s the fact that in a way I wanted to save face. As the years went by I felt… embarrassed by the whole thing. Matt was at the reunion. I hadn’t seen him for years, but when I did I could barely believe I’d ever seen anything in him. I mean, the man’s a joke. It’s like he’s stuck in the late nineties. (pauses, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears) Anymore questions while you’re at it?

Me: Only one, what’s your relationship like with Anna and Melissa now?

L: (brightens) Oh it’s great. The four of us went to a spa together not long after the reunion. Did Anna tell you about that? (I nod) It was fabulous. It’s like no time had passed since we were friends at school. All those years when we weren’t in touch – they’ve vanished.

Me: I’m really glad to hear that Lizzie. Is there anything else you want to say?

L: Only this, that I think Anna deserves to be so happy. She’s a wonderful friend and would make the right man the perfect partner.

Me: Thanks for talking to me Lizzie.

L: You’re welcome. (looks at watch) Oh crumbs, is that the time? I must go. See you.

If you’ve never taken part in WIPpet Wednesday and would like to, just post on your blog anything you’ve been working on writing-wise lately. Ideally it should relate in some way to the date – my contribution today didn’t! Then add your name to this.

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I know I’ve been absent from my blog for a while. Well actually from my writing my novel a bit too. I didn’t even take part in WIPpet Wednesday this week.

The reason is that I’m preoccupied with work matters. May sound boring, actually quite exciting. Today was my first morning of my work experience with Bristol City Council (here in the-sometimes-sunny UK!).

It went really well, but I was very nervous last night and apprehensive, not to say completely knackered, which is why I didn’t take part in WIPpet Wednesday. The people I’m going to be working with were really friendly though, and welcoming which was great. I think the work is going to be good and I’m excited about it.

Just to confuse you, I found out today that I’ve got an interview for a part time paid job (the work experience is unpaid). So I feel like I’m in a win win situation – if I get the paid job that’s fantastic, if not I’ve still got the work experience to be doing.

In the first paragraph of this post I mentioned that I’d been absent from my writing. I can explain! I’ve done well over 4000 words on my new WIP. But although I know where I want it to go at the end, as well as some of the action that takes place in the middle, I wasn’t sure how to carry on from where I’d initially got to.

So I’ve gone back to the drawing board so to speak. I’m fleshing out scenes that could take place between my MC and my other characters immediately after where I’ve got up to on the computer. This is going well but taking a while, so I’ve been away from my lovely pink laptop for a while and curled up on the sofa scribbling away in my notebook.

Phew! So now you’re pretty much up to date with where I’m at. I hope to be doing more proper writing soon and taking part in WIPpet Wednesday again next week – lack of tiredness permitting!

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I’m delighted to be interviewing an exciting new author I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in the world of blogging writers.

Her name is Chloe Corin and she recently published her debut novel The Hall Speaks. She was kind enough to take the time to answer some questions about how she came to write her novel, what her experience has been and any advice she might have for other budding authors.

When did you first realise you wanted to be a writer?

I love that you asked this question. My love for writing came much later, after college when there wasn’t any pressure to perform. Growing up I didn’t like writing at all. I practically hyperventilated anytime I had to write a paper in English. But one day I just decided to face my fear and write. I did this for two reasons: 1) I’m dyslexic and was told numerous times I couldn’t and shouldn’t write. Well, I wanted my children to know that they could do anything they wanted whether others believe in them or not. 2) Written word is amazing! It will last for centuries–it’s a great thing to pass to the future. I truly believe each writer leaves a part of themselves in their work. Knowing that one day my great grandchildren would read my novels and get a sense of who I was motivated me to start writing.

How did you come up with the idea for The Hall Speaks?

I lived it. The Hall Speaks is my version of Big Fish—the marriage of fiction and nonfiction. I worked in Residence life for years, living with hundreds of college students, and dealing with everything imaginable that could happen with unsupervised kids. I worked in Reslife at Virginia Tech while I was in graduate school. And as some know, they had the largest school shooting to date. The fact that student staff (RAs) were some of the first responders to this awful situation amazed me. That’s when I knew I wanted to tell a story from the perspective of a RA. However, I didn’t want to write a book just about a shooting. That’s like watching the Titanic and only seeing the part where the ship sinks. There was something really powerful seeing the characters’ lives, their struggles, who they loved, what they fought for, before the unsinkable ship crashed into the iceberg. So I knew I wanted to do something similar with this project because life happens before the tragedy. However, I do love happy endings and I made sure my novel had one! 🙂

Did writing The Hall Speaks require much research and if so what did that research involve?

Mostly I was just pulling from my memory. However, my book deals with quite a few things that require legal action so I have to research the law. But most of my research was on the literary world, from agents, genres, indie authors, publishing, etc. I seriously researched for an entire year on what do with a completed novel.

What’s the biggest challenge you faced while writing it?

Oh my goodness! I wrote the first draft in less than 3 months but like I mentioned, I have dyslexia so there was a ton to revise. Then the other challenges came along with life: my husband had some health challenges; we switched jobs, moved to another state, which caused me to lose my critique group. All of this prolonged this project because it was hard to dedicate time to writing when I really needed to keep up with my changing life! Once I moved I felt totally lost when it came to finding a writing group. Not having weekly support of other writers hurt my growth and focus as a writer. My husband’s awesome, however he doesn’t read fiction. So his input was kind but not helpful.

What have you found to be most helpful to your growth and development as a writer?

I loved my critique group when I lived in Texas. Many of the writers there were published and had agents. They were always really helpful and supportive, the energy of the group was inspiring! I never felt like anyone was competing against me, secretly wanting me to fail. It was quite the opposite, actually. Being part of the DFW Writers’ Group has been one of the best experiences for me and definitely helped my writing skills!

What has the experience of going through the self-publishing process been like for you?

I’m so glad that we have self-publishing! I love indie authors and think they are so brave for going at it alone. The hardest part so far has been the marketing and contacting readers. I came across an article, The Loneliness of the Long Distance Readers, that discussed publishing. One of the things I gathered and I agree with, is that with the ease of self-publishing and the volume of books available, readers aren’t sure what to read. That’s why a lot of people will just read whatever is popular. So finding that group of readers that will make your book popular is hard for new authors. Readers are the best marketing tool; they sell your book for you.

Looking back over the whole process of writing The Hall Speaks and publishing it, is there anything you’d do differently?

Yes, yes, and yes! I should have published my book a long time ago. Working on it for 3 years I found it difficult to stay excited about the book. For me, it was like watching the same movie over and over again for three years. No matter how good the movie is, you get to a point where you can hardly stand another line from it! I was getting too much advice, doing too much research, that I eventually got confused and stuck. At the time, New Adult wasn’t around so I didn’t know how to sell my novel. And looking back, I should have just gone for it! Timing means so much in the world of entertainment and over the last year, I’ve noticed one of my themes in other New Adult novels. Not that it’s a horrible thing, but it makes one of my story lines old news now. However, three years ago that story line would have been a fresh concept for this market. I’m not upset or anything, just learning along the way!

Have you got any tips for other aspiring writers?

I’m sure there are a lot of practical things that writers can do to improve their work. I’m not going to comment on those because I feel they change like the time. I’m sure at one point critiques were against 1st person narratives, and novels with two POVs, YA, and now NA, but as we can all see, time changes everything. However, one thing I think every artist should strive for is inspiration. Find this, and if you lose it, search for it until you find it again. Inspiration is the magic; it’s powerful enough to separate the talented from the phenomenal. I think about J.K Rowling, John Green, Michael Jackson, even Stephanie Meyer. They were able to create works that connected to people in such a way it impacted a culture.

Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me! I had a blast answering the question, it was great for reflection! ~Chloe CorinJ

Thank you too Chloe for taking the time to answer my questions. I wish you all the best with your novel.

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After over a week of interviews and guest posts on my fellow writers’ blogs, I’ve got to the end of my blog tour to promote my debut novel The Inheritance.

And to finish up today I’m back where I started – on my friend Kate Frost’s blog being interviewed by her. Kate is a good friend of mine. We live fairly close together and she’s the first person I’ve followed on Twitter who I’ve met face to face!

Kate has been a real support and help to me over the past year or so on my quest to publish The Inheritance. So take a look at her interview with me. She asks me some great questions which I hope you’ll find interesting. You can even find out which of my characters are like me and which of them I’d like to meet.

I’ve really enjoyed my blog tour, especially answering your questions about how I came to publish The Inheritance. I’ve also enjoyed the preparation for it, contacting my fellow writers and arranging it all as well as answering the questions for my interviews and writing my guest posts.

If you missed any of my blog tour dates and would like to take a look you can find the details here. Thanks again to Kate, Joanne, Jade, Briana, Martin and Laurey for helping me with my promotion. I really appreciate it guys!

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Well this is the penultimate day of my blog tour to promote my debut novel The Inheritance. And today I’m being interviewed by the lovely Laurey Buckland on her blog.

Since I approached her with the request to feature on her blog, Laurey has been nothing but supportive and friendly. She’s the author of the wonderful novel A Girl’s Guide to Fairy Tales and if you enjoy a funny, witty romance then this is the book for you. I’ve read it and really enjoyed it.

Please do take a look at the interview and Laurey’s blog. It’s definitely worth a visit.

If you missed any of my blog stops, you can find the details here. I hope you’ve enjoyed my blog tour so far and that you’ll join me again on Sunday when I finish up with an interview on Kate Frost‘s blog.

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I wanted to update you all on my progress in publishing The Inheritance. I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be publishing it this Saturday 14th September and to launch it I’m having a blog tour. I’m so excited!

It’s been well over a year in the making – nearly two years in fact – but now it’s finally finished and it’ll be ready for you to download on both Amazon UK and Amazon.com from Saturday.

Some of my lovely fellow writers have agreed to host/interview me on their blogs as part of my blog tour. The dates are as follows:

Saturday 14th September I’ll be doing a guest post on Kate Frost‘s blog about how I became a writer.

Monday 16th September I’m doing another guest post on Joanne Phillips‘s blog about how I came to publish The Inheritance.

Tuesday 17th September you’ll have the chance to read an excerpt from The Inheritance on Jade Reyner‘s blog.

Wednesday 18th September Briana Vedsted will be interviewing me on her blog about the process of writing The Inheritance.

Thursday 19th September you’ll be able to read another interview with me on Martin Lake‘s blog where I talk a bit about myself and how I went about writing The Inheritance.

Friday 20th September Laurey Buckland will interview me on her blog where as well as talking about writing The Inheritance, you can find out what exactly I haven’t done in my life yet that’s on my to do list.

Sunday 22nd September I’ll draw my blog tour to a close by returning to Kate Frost‘s blog for an interview.

Phew! That’s a lot of stops, but I really hope you’ll visit these wonderful writers’ blogs and find out a little bit more about how I came to write and publish The Inheritance. I’ll also be updating my blog all next week so you’ll be able to keep track of what stage I’m at in it. 😀